The whole sentence was: > Most people en route dismissed me as an English eccentric, > although many were politely intrigued. On one occasion, a > local man of

The whole sentence was: > Most people en route dismissed me as an English eccentric, > although many were politely intrigued. On one occasion, a > local man offered me a huge meal and homemade wine. In this context I really don't think the word dismissed should be of concern. Seems like many people treated him fine despite bouncing on a space hopper...